Costa Rica to rely on experience and youth at Gold Cup

PORTLAND, OR -- Second in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, Costa Rica is hoping to ride its current form to a first-ever Gold Cup title.

Headlining the Ticos roster for the competition is the scoring tandem of Alvaro Saborio from Real Salt Lake and Columbus Crew forward Jairo Arrieta.

In 85 national team appearances, Saborio has 30 goals, good for third all-time on the Ticos scoring list. The 31-year-old forward said he is looking forward to playing Belize at Rio Tinto Stadium in the group stage.

“It’s very exciting to play here, in my stadium and with my fans,” Saborio recently told the website of his club Real Salt Lake , referring to the July 13 game. “Hopefully my fans go with the national team and we can win here.”

Portland Timbers midfielder Rodney Wallace will have a similar chance when Costa Rica meets Cuba at JELD-WEN Field on Tuesday.

Costa Rica enters the tournament with a five-game unbeaten streak, which includes a scoreless draw against Mexico in Estadio Azteca on June 11. While the Ticos are excited about the prospects of a fourth-ever qualification to the World Cup, the focus right now is squarely on the Gold Cup.

“You have to fight for it. Our goal is to achieve top rankings, that is our commitment, our desire, our fight and we’re working,” said Colombian-born coach Jorge Luis Pinto, who guided Costa Rica to the UNCAF Copa Centroamericana title in January. “Whoever thinks otherwise you must leave this place to another.”

Costa Rica also features influential midfielder Celso Borges, who scored in a 2-0 win over Panama in the Ticos last match June 18, and veteran defender Michael Umaña, who has 69 caps and is one of four Saprissa players on the roster.

Borges plays for AIK in Sweden and scored a pair of goals in helping lead the Ticos to the 2009 Gold Cup semifinals.

“The team has been working very solid from the [Mexico] tie and I feel that in this process we do have the conditions to win the [Gold] Cup,” he said.

A few players, like defender Juan Diego Madrigal, midfielders Oscar Esteban Granados, Osvaldo Rodriguez and Mauricio Castillo and forwards Kenny Cunningham and Yendrick Ruiz all have less than 10 caps.

Some of the younger players will try to give Pinto something to think about when World Cup qualification continues in September. For that reason, the coach is expecting to tweak his lineup from match to match.

“The competition is different, but it helps us to see players competing,” Pinto said. “If I can rotate four or five per game, that will give a chance to see them all.”

GET CONCACAF NEWS

IN YOUR INBOX

RELATED NEWS YOU'LL LIKE

CONCACAF Champions League Announces 2013-14 Schedule

Twenty-Four Teams set to Compete for Regional Club Championship Starting August 6.

2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinals Set

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today the official pairings and kick-off times of Quarterfinal matches in the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

2014 UNCAF Copa Centroamericana update

The Union of Central American Football (UNCAF) revealed Wednesday that the next UNCAF Copa Centroamericana

Final 2013 Gold Cup rosters revealed

CONCACAF unveiled today the final rosters submitted by the National Teams participating in the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

De La Torre, Mexico remain upbeat

SEATTLE – Mexico head coach Jose Manuel de la Torre trusts that his team will rebound from an opening 2-1 loss to Panama, when it faces Canada on Thursday in the second Group A match for each at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.